Report Shows New Transmission Can Help Wind Energy Supply a Third of U.S. Electricity

Posted by Mitalee Gupta5sc on January 11, 2017

The U.S. Energy Department released a new report on Jan 9th, 2017 which confirms that adding even limited electricity transmission can significantly reduce the costs of expanding wind energy to supply 35% of U.S. electricity by 2050. The report, titled Reducing Wind Curtailment through Transmission Expansion in a Wind Vision Future and authored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), affirms the findings of the Energy Department’s 2015 Wind Vision, which showed that a future in which wind provides 20% of U.S. electricity in 2030 and 35% in 2050 is achievable and would provide significant economic, energy security, and health benefits to the nation.

Wind power is one of the fastest growing sources of new electricity generation in the United States and is already providing substantial economic, energy security, and health benefits. This study by NREL affirms that even limited additions to transmission capacity would allow more wind energy from the Mountain States to power load centers on the West Coast.